Media Consumption Review for 2025

 

I consumed a fair amount of media in 2025. Fewer books than normal (66 total), with a lot more fiction and comic book material than past years. Only TWO actual hold in your hands books (in green).

A victory, in that I wanted to read less, and have more fun with what I was reading.

84 movies, and 47 seasons of shows. A lot of weekend viewing, and right before going to bed viewing, and when it comes to cartoons shows and movies, I watched those in my office as I was eating breakfast and/or lunch. A lot of time invested, time that I could probably use more wisely... 

See the lists below...and comment with what you've been reading/watching!

Books Read to in 2025

Rogue: Section 31 - The Next Generation - Andy Mangels, Michael Martin - 363

Shadow: Section 31 - Voyager - Dean Wesley Smith - 252

Cloak: Section 31 - The Original Series - S.D. Perry - 214

Abyss: Section 31 - Deep Space Nine - David Weddle, Jeffrey Lang - 294

Section 31 - Disavowed - David Mack - 331

Section 31 - Control - David Mack - 346

Typhon Pact Book I: Zero Sum Game - David Mack - 340

Typhon Pact Book II: Seize the Fire - Michael A. Martin - 500

The Science of Influence - Brian Tracy - 180

A5 Empire Marketing - Robert Raymond - 129

Million Dollar Habits - Brian Tracy - 250

Day of Honor Book I: Ancient Blood - Diane Carey - 280

Day of Honor Book II: Armageddon Sky - LA Graf - 304

Day of Honor Book III: Her Klingon Soul - Michael Jan Friedman - 304

Day of Honor Book IV: Treaty's Law - Kristine Kathryn Rusch - 277

Day of Honor: The Television Episode - Robert Greenberger - 247

Day of Honor: Ancient Blood - Diana Gallagher - 147

Star Trek: Picard: Firewall - David Mack - 325

Mark the Match Boy - Horatio Alger - 192

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope - 326

Book More Business: Make MORE Money Speaking - Lois Creamer - 166

Booked - Ed Rigsbee - 110

Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell - 280

Einstein: The Life and Universe - Walter Isaacson - 551

Audio Books Listened to in 2025 

Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman - 20:02

Secrets of a Millionaire Mind - T. Harv Eker - 8:13

Supercommunicators - Charles Duhigg - 7:28

The Champions Mind - Jim Afremow - 7:49

Let Them - Mel Robbins - 10:38

The Millionaire Messenger - Brendan Burchard - 6:10

Millionaire University: Millionaire Mindset Extended Edition - Craig Beck - 6:18

Relentless - Tim S. Grover - 6:44

The Success Principles - Jack Canfield & Janet Switzer - 21:46

James - Percival Everett - 7:49

How to Change - Katy Milkman - 6:14

Awaken the Power Within - Anthony Robbins - 6:16

Kindle Comics read in 2025

Swamp Thing by Rick Veitch Vol I - 306

New Frontier - 500

Hellblazer: Original Sins - 271

Hellblazer Vol 2: The Devil You Know - 250

Hellblazer Vol 3: The Fear Machine - 224

Hellblazer Vol 4: The Family Man - 284

Hellblazer Vol 5: Dangerous Habits - 335

Hellblazer Vol 6: Bloodlines - 349

Hellblazer Vol 7: Tainted Love - 318

Hellblazer Vol 8: Rake at the Gates of Hell - 385

Hellblazer Vol 9: Critical Mass - 323

Hellblazer Vol 10: In the Line of Fire - 284

Hellblazer Vol 11: Last Man Standing - 331

Hellblazer Vol 12: How to Play With Fire - 317

Batman: The Court of Owls - 350 - Scott Snyder

Batman: Ego and Other Tails - 259 - Darwyn Cooke

Deadman: Book Four - 165 - Various

Stargirl: The Lost Children - 177 - Geoff Johns, Todd Nauck

Justice Society: Vol 1 - the New Golden Age - 177 - Geoff Johns

Jay Garrick: The Flash - 140 - Jeremy Adams

Arkham Asylum - 220 - Grant Morrison, Dave McKean

The Batman Who Laughs - 232 - Scott Snyder, James Tynion

Superman/Batman Vol I: Crossworld - 139 - Greg Pak, Jae Lee

Batman: Dark Victory - 368 - Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale

Batman: Year One TPB - 124 - Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli

Miracleman Vol I - 238 - Alan Moore, Gary Leach

Miracleman Vol II - 185 - Alan Moore, Gary Leach, Alan Davis

Miracleman Vol III - 223 - Alan Moore, Gary Leach, Alan Davis

All-Star Superman - 298 - Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely

HulkGray - 149 - Jeph Loeb, Tim Case

Movies Watched in 2025

Juror #2 - Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette

Mother's Instinct - Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain

I Want to Talk - Abhishek Bachchan (Bio of Arjun Sen)

Love, Kennedy - Tatum Chiniquy, Heather Beers

Back in Action - Jaime Foxx, Cameron Diaz

You Hurt My Feelings - Tobias Menzies, Julia Louise-Dreyfuss

You're Cordially Invited - Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon

Goodrich - Mila Kunis, Michael Keaton

Bridget Jones IV - Renee Zelwegger, Hugh Grant

We Live in Time - Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh

The Wild Robot - Kit Connor, Pedro Pascal

My One and Only - Renee Zelwegger, Kevin Bacon

The Electric State - Chris Pratt, Millie Bobbie Brown, Stanley Tucci

Flow - Oscar Winner, 2024 Best Animated Picture

Here - Tom Hanks, Robin Wright

Stand By Me - Wheaton, River Phoenix, Cory Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, Dreyfuss, Kiefer Sutherland

Fly Me to the Moon - Scarlett Johannsen, Woody Harrelson, Channing Tatum

Charade - Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn

The Breakfast Club - Molly, Judd, Emilio, Ally, & Anthony

Begin Again - Mark Ruffalo, Keira Knightley, Hailee Steinfeld

Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Matt Broderick, Jennifer Grey, Alan Ruck

Nonna - Vince Vaughn, Talia Shire, Susan Sarandon

Novacaine - Jack Quaid

Fountain of Youth - John Krasinski, Stanley Tucci, Natalie Portman

Fight Club - Ed Norton, Brad Pitt

Another Simple Favor - Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively

The Accountant 2 - Ben Affleck

Straw - Taraji Penda Henson

The Gorge - Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver

Captain America: Brave New World - Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford

It's Kind of a Funny Story -Keir Gilchrist, Emma Roberts

I'll Be Right There - Edie Falco

The Answer Man - Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Nora Dunn

Arthur's Whiskey - Diane Keaton, Hayley Mills, Patricia Hodge

Heads of State - John Cena, Idris Elba

A Kind of Murder - Patrick Wilson, Jessica Biel, Haley Bennet

Sinners - Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld

Brothers - Josh Brolin, Glenn Close, Peter Dinklage, Brendan Fraser, Marisa Tomei

Catch & Release - Jennifer Garner, Kevin Smith, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis

The Judge - Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall

Throwback - Matt Sasso, Justina Machado

Everyone Says I Love You - Woody Allen, Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts

Jurassic World: Rebirth - Scarlett Johansson

Superman - David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult

Sunshine Cleaning - Amy Adams, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt

I Could Never Be Your Woman - Michele Pfeifer, Paul Rudd, Jon Lovitz

She's Funny That Way - Imogen Poot, Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Will Forte

Night Always Comes - Vanessa Kirby, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zack Gottsagen

Somewhere in Time - Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer

The Longest Week - Jason Bateman, Billy Crudup, Olivia Wilde

The Map that Leads to You - Madelyn Cline, KJ Apa

Pickup - Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson

All of You - Imogen Poots, Brett Goldstein

The Lost Bus - Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera

The Fang Family - Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken

Weapons - Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong

And So It Goes - Diane Keaton, Michael Douglas, Rob Reiner

The Thursday Murder Club - Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley

North by Northwest - Cary Grant, EvaMarie Saint, Martin Landau

Fantastic Four - First Steps - Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Julia Garner, Joseph Quinn

Winchester '73 - Jimmy Stewart, Will Geer

The Family Plan 2 - Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan

Thunderbolts - Florence Pugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sebastian Stan

J. Kelly - Adam Sandler, George Clooney, Laura Dern, Stacy Keach

Freaky Friday II - Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon

Secret Santa - Ryan Eggold, Alexandra Breckenridge, Tia Mowry

The Family Stone - Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Dermot Mulroney

Home Alone - Macauley Culkin

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - Chevy Chase

Home Alone II - Macauley Culkin

Materialists - Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson

When Harry Met Sally - Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby

TV Shows Watched in 2025

Modern Family: S7 - 22 episodes (half in 2024)
Modern Family: S8 - 22 episodes
Modern Family: S9 - 22 episodes
Modern Family: S10 - 22 episodes
Modern Family: S11 - 18 episodes (Final Season)
Shrinking: S3 - 12 episodes
Cobra Kai: S5 - last 5 episodes
Justice League: S2 - 26 episodes
Justice League Unlimited: S1 - 13 episodes
Justice League Unlimited: S2 - 13 episodes
Justice League Unlimited: S3 - 13 episodes
Superman: The Animated Series: S1 - 13 episodes
Superman: The Animated Series: S2 - 26 episodes
Superman: The Animated Series: S3 - 13 episodes
The Batman - S1 - 26 episodes
The Batman - S2 - 13 episodes
The Batman - S3 - 13 episodes
The Batman - S4 - 13 episodes
Creature Commandos - S1 - 7 episodes
The Conners - S7 - 6 episodes
Batman Beyond - S1 - 13 episodes
Batman Beyond - S2 - 26 episodes
Batman Beyond - S3 - 13 episodes
Matlock - S1 - 19 episodes
Hacks - S4 - 10 episodes
Young Justice - S1 - 26 episodes
Young Justice - S2 - 20 episodes
Young Justice - S3 - 26 episodes
Young Justice - S4 - 26 episodes (final season)
Beware the Batman - S1 - 26 episodes (only one season)
Supersons - DC Movie
Justice League vs. Titans - DC Movie
JLA: Doom - DC Movie
JLA: Throne of Atlantis - DC Movie
JLA: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part I - DC Movie
JLA: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part II - DC Movie
JLA: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part III - DC Movie
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War - DC Movie
Injustice - DC Movie
Superman: Man of Tomorrow - DC Movie
Superman: Unbound - DC Movie
The Pitt - S1 - 15 episodes
Young Sheldon - S1 - 22 episodes
Young Sheldon - S2 - 22 episodes 

Young Sheldon - S3 - 22 episodes 

Young Sheldon - S4 - 22 episodes 

Young Sheldon - S5 - 22 episodes 

Young Sheldon - S6 - 22 episodes 

Young Sheldon - S7 - 14 episodes (final season) 

Fit For TV - The Reality of the Biggest Loser - Documentary - 3 episodes 

Strange New Worlds - S3 - 10 episodes 

Peacemaker - S2 - 8 episodes 

Harley Quinn - S1 - 13 episodes 

Harley Quinn - S2 - 13 episodes 

Harley Quinn - S3 - 11 episodes 

Harley Quinn - S4 - 10 episodes 

The Bear - S4 - 10 episodes 

The Big C - S1 - 13 episodes 

Pluribus - S1 - 9 episodes

The Best Time in Your Speech for Your Signature Story Is....

 

I’ve heard a lot of arguments about this one over the years – and different speakers have different opinions. In any speech, your personal experiences are crucial, but particularly in inspirational keynote presentations. Often referred to as your ‘signature story’, it’s the story you’re most known for, the story that slams home your point. Your ‘overcame abuse’, ‘survived the accident’, ‘ran a marathon on one leg’ story which resonates in your audiences memory long after they leave.

Some speakers open with it. Others embed it later on. Some delay it to the very end. All can be effective, but it depends both on your audience, and what you've been called to deliver.

Open With It

This is my LEAST favorite option, but I hear it a lot.

PROS: Gets it out to your audience quickly, and lets you build the rest of your presentation off an emotional high.

CONS: If they don't know, like and trust you, there's no guarantee they're going to give a whit about your big story, and you'll lose them entirely.

WHO IT WORKS FOR: Celebrity speakers - folks the audience already have a connection to through fame or industry. All others beware. (Tip: If your audience has paid to hear you speak, to them, you're a celebrity.)

Before Your Process

You've set the table - connected with the audience, defined the problem, and promised a solution. Now you let it all loose with your signature story. Afterward, you make your points one by one, calling back to various parts of your great adventure to support each point as you failed/learned/succeeded through it all.

PROS: You have full control of the narrative and how it will be interpreted. You come off looking like an expert, one who has gone in one end and come out the other better for it. You are the leader they need!

CONS: You may not ever return, which means they need to lead themselves. If they only have your story and experience to relate too, it may not be enough.

WHO IT WORKS FOR: Preachers, Politicians, Business Leaders - those who are building a following, a tribe. If you're going to stick around, you can inspire the troops to follow you to hell and back with your signature story. (Tip: Even in this scenario, the more you can get your audience seeing themselves succeeding by imitation, the better off you'll be. Most followers see themselves as leaders in their own right.)

After Your Process

This is my personal preference.

Hook 'em, empathize with them, promise them a solution, paint the sunny future they'll have when they apply your process, which you offer with a combination of short personal anecdotes and third party examples, and then LOWER THE BOOM.

PROS: By now they trust you. They've laughed with you. They understand what you're saying is more about them than about you. They don't see you as the inimitable hero of the presentation - instead they know they have tools to move forward with in their own life.

CONS: If your presentation is too long, and your process too complicated, by the time you get to you amazing keynote story, your audience may not really want it. You'll probably have to edit it down, and occasionally, depending on time, delete it entirely.

WHO IT WORKS FOR: Pretty much everybody. For the average speaker, your information will have more leverage than your inspiration - your inspiration is the frosting on top. If the celebrities, preachers, and politicians would try it, they might find it more effective than what they're doing now. (Tip: have small, medium and large versions of your story - if time does become an issue, you'll be ready.)

See content credentials

Takeaway

But Rich, my story is why I want to speak in the first place! To share my trials and tribulations! Yeah, I know. But why do you want to share them? For recognition? For sympathy? If it's for any other reason than helping others through their own version of the difficulties you've made it through, you're more likely to an entertainer than a speaker. There's nothing wrong with that, and the sooner you realize it the better.

You signature story should be the final proof of all you've talked about in the presentation. The story that lets your audience know you DO understand them, you HAVE been there, and you're ready to help THEM get to the other side. Yes, your big story is all about you - but in the end, your audience should feel like it is really all about them.

From there, it's THEIR story that matters.

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